Billions sought for roads
California transportation proposal would increase taxes, impose new fees
SACRAMENTO — California drivers would face higher prices at the pump and new vehicle registration fees under a $52 billion plan announced Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown and California legislative leaders to repair the state’s aging roads and bridges and improve public transportation.
Saying the deal isn’t perfect but long overdue, Brown insisted that California cannot keep ignoring its transportation infrastructure or continue borrowing money to fix it.
“There will be critics who say ‘Oh this costs money,’ ” Brown said at a news conference in front of the state Capitol on Wednesday. “If the roof in your house is leaking, you better fix it, because it gets worse all the time. This is mostly about fixing what we already have.”
The deal was more than two years in the making and could be voted on by the Legislature as soon as next week. It would raise $5.2 billion a year for 10 years by increasing the vehicle registration fee by $25 to $175 depending on the value of the vehicle, hiking gas and diesel taxes, and creating a fee on zero-emission vehicles.
The sales tax on gas wouldn’t change, but the excise tax on distributors — a cost passed down to drivers — would rise. Under the deal, the state’s gas excise tax, which is currently 18 cents, would increase by 12 cents per gallon to 30 cents.
Additionally, the excise tax on diesel fuel, used by the commercial trucking industry, would increase by 20 cents a gallon to 36 cents. The diesel sales tax also would rise to 5.75 percent from the current 1.75 percent.
Electric and hybrid-vehicle drivers, meanwhile, would pay a new $100-per-year fee beginning in 2020.
The new spending would include:
$30 billion for local road repairs, including fixing potholes, and highway repairs, like smoother pavement.
$7.5 billion for local public transportation.
$1 billion to improve walking and bicycling infrastructure.
$2.5 billion to reduce congestion on major commute corridors.
$4 billion for bridge and culvert repair.
$275 million for highway and intercity-transit improvements.
“For decades, transportation in California has been getting worse, and the funds to fix it have been drying up,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount (Los Angeles County). “Let’s be clear, our roads suck. Our bridges are crumbling; traffic takes time away from our families, up to 92 hours a year in some areas.”
Much of the state’s highway system was built from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The state has accumulated an estimated $59 billion backlog in upkeep and maintenance for roads and bridges.
That’s partly because the current gas tax used to fund road maintenance comes up significantly short to pay for the work needed each year, with that gap increasing as electric cars and hybrids become more popular. The $100per-year fee for those vehicles would ensure that their owners pay their share of road maintenance fees.
Brown’s office said the funding proposal would cost most drivers less than $10 a month. Drivers of nearly half of the cars on the road would pay the smallest increase to the registration fee of $25 a year, which is reserved for cars valued at less than $5,000.
The deal would have to earn two-thirds approval in each house of the Legislature to pass, which is no easy feat, even with Democrats holding the necessary seats to pass the transportation bill without Republican votes.
Gas and diesel taxes as well as a new vehicle registration fee are unpopular with voters in both Democratic and Republican districts.
And lawmakers are sensitive to that. One of the key reasons Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in 2003 was his decision to triple vehicle license fees. It was that issue that then-candidate Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigned on, promising to repeal the so-called “car tax,” which, after winning, he did on his first day in office. The vehicle license fee returned to .65 percent of the value of a car, where it has remained since.
The proposal Brown and lawmakers touted Wednesday would increase that fee on a sliding scale depending on the value of the car, with the highest increase of $175 being paid by people whose cars are worth more than $60,000.
The proposal to increase the fee comes days before the base vehicle registration fee of $43 is set to increase by $10 on April 1 to pay for increasing costs at the California Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles.
Still, Brown and legislative leaders said they are confident they can pass the deal through the state Legislature and get the bill on Brown’s desk.
“We need to deliver,” said state Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles. “We don’t need to make excuses, not play political games or pass the buck, or for the past 14 legislative sessions kick the can down the road.”
Republicans have said they do not support the vehicle fee and tax increases, instead calling on the state to prioritize repairs with existing funds.
“Californians deserve better,” said Assembly Republican Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley (San Bernardino County). “State government has mismanaged our transportation system for decades, and the only answer, the only response to that is that the ruling party here in California wants to raise taxes.”
The deal will be put into a bill, SB1 by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose.
“We think it’s high time the state put transportation first in its priorities,” said Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council, a business lobbying group active in transportation issues.
Wunderman called the deal “a good start” and said county and regional measures will still be necessary to address the state’s significant transportation needs.
“The reality is infrastructure is something we share, and it won’t fix itself,” Wunderman said. “The future costs if nothing is done are really severe.”